Artist Peter Doig, whose pieces regularly sell for $10 million, is currently entangled in a rare and rather odd lawsuit, which involves a work Doig denies he created. While disputes of the authenticity of pieces of artwork are not uncommon,
Art Law Blog
News & Updates on Legal Issues Facing the Art World
The Art Law Blog, published by Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, focuses on legal issues at the intersection of art and law. It covers topics such as art-backed lending and the use of fine art as collateral in financial transactions, legal challenges related to art authenticity and due diligence in the art market, copyright considerations involving AI-generated art, and international perspectives on intellectual property rights for creative works. The blog also addresses litigation trends involving art forgery, the evolving legal standards for human authorship in AI-created content, and the implications of differing copyright laws across jurisdictions. It serves as a resource on the complex legal landscape affecting collectors, artists, galleries, and financial institutions engaged with art assets.
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Don’t Cry Over Spilled Paint — Sue! VARA Claim Filed Against Detroit Real Estate Company
News of up-and-coming Detroit-based artist, Katherine Craig, splattered across headlines in the art world when she recently filed a lawsuit under Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA). The complaint requests injunctive relief against the new owner of the building on which…
Politics – The Invisible Force Behind China Artist and Art Market
After a period of significant growth from 2009 to 2014, the Chinese art market has experienced a drastic decline in the first half of 2015 with reports that the fine art auction turnover contracted at 30% less than the 2014…
Crime Doesn’t Pay (as much as it used to) – FBI Cracks Down on Trade of Looted Syrian and Iraqi Cultural Artifacts
In support of the international crackdown on the black market trade of looted cultural artifacts, the FBI recently announced that art dealers may be prosecuted for engaging in the trade of stolen Iraqi and Syrian antiquities. Terrorist organizations such as…
The Artist’s Legacy – Gifts of Art to Family and Friends
In our last blog post, Christine Steiner addressed artists’ business and legal challenges. In this post, Lauren Liebes will address unique issues artist face when making gifts to family and friends of visual art they have created.…
The Artist’s Legacy – Business and Legal Planning Issues
Sheppard Mullin attorneys Christine Steiner and Lauren Liebes recently joined Weston Naef, Getty Photography Curator Emeritus, and ASA appraiser Jennifer Stoots for “What Will Become of Your Legacy”, a panel discussion at Los Angeles Center of Photography. The panel addressed…
The Elephant in the Room: Ivory Ban Seeks to Curb Poaching
With the June passage of New York Senate bill S7890 and Assembly bill A10143, the Empire State’s elephant and mammoth ivory and rhino horn trade may be approaching extinction.…
Last Wishes, First Impression: Potential legal issues arise after Munich recluse passes away, bequeathing Nazi-looted art to a Swiss museum
Cornelius Gurlitt’s notarized will, which did not surface until after his unexpected death this past May, lists the Kunstmuseum Bern in Switzerland as the heir to his vast art collection, which included works by Matisse, Dix, and Chagall. The unusual…
French Court Supports Freedom of Authentication: A Win for Art Experts
Recently, the high court of appeals in Paris upheld an art expert’s right to refuse to authenticate a work of art. While this decision took nine years to come to fruition, it validates an art expert’s freedom to make an…
Ninth Circuit Hearing on California Resale Royalties
Readers will recall that in 2012 the U.S. District Court struck down the California Resale Royalties Act, holding that the 1970s-era law violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.…